Pride Month is the perfect time to enjoy many queer anime series that highlight the complexities of the LGBTQIA+ community, from the horror hit The Summer Hikaru Died to the very underrated Wandering Son.
Queer anime continues to take the spotlight, especially during Pride Month, with stories that highlight the complexities of the LGBTQIA+ community, from horror hits like The Summer Hikaru Died to underrated gems such as Wandering Son.
Anime remains a vast and diverse medium despite originating from a single country. It explores a wide range of themes and communities, including LGBTQIA+ narratives. From popular yaoi (boys’ love) and yuri (girls’ love) titles to more nuanced stories about gender identity and sexual expression, queer experiences have long been part of anime storytelling.
Some of the most compelling works go beyond familiar tropes, weaving LGBTQIA+ themes into genres like horror, teen drama, and psychological storytelling. This Pride Month, these queer anime series are worth adding to your watchlist.
1. Sekaiichi Hatsukoi
This show’s title translates to “The World’s Greatest First Love,” and it certainly lives up to it. The protagonist, 25-year-old literary editor Ritsu Onodera, gets hired at Marukawa Publishing, where he encounters Masamune Takano, his former high school senior. As it turns out, Onodera is Takano’s first love, and now that they’re working together, he leaves no stone unturned in his pursuit of a long-buried first love, hoping to finally have his feelings returned.
Fans and fujoshis alike consider Sekaiichi Hatsukoi one of the best boys’ love series ever produced in the medium. It highlights same-sex male love through various couples and in different situations, proving that gay love truly has a lot of colors to it.
2. Love Stage!!
Love Stage!! challenges the notion that gender matters when falling in love in a 10-episode boys’ love anime that’s equal parts funny and heartwarming. It tells the story of Izumi Sena, the college-aged otaku son of a showbiz power couple whose insecurities stem from a traumatic experience portraying a flower girl in a wedding commercial when he was little. The one person who got him through it was Ryoma Ichijo, a young actor who grew up to become one of Japan’s hottest stars.
Ryoma fell in love with Izumi without knowing he was a boy, and upon discovering the truth, eventually felt comfortable with his newfound sexuality. For him, Izumi is his first and only love, and his gender never mattered in the first place.
3. Sasaki and Miyano
Unfortunately, yaoi has a notorious reputation for frequently depicting problematic tropes within its queer romances. Controversial issues like non-consent relations and sexual abuse run rampant throughout the genre, making for a largely uncomfortable medium for fans and non-fans alike. This is why Sasaki and Miyano stands out as a refreshing entry within the genre.
This high school BL series is as heartwarming as a straight K-Drama romance, complete with blushing adolescence and stolen glances. But what truly takes the cake is the perfect pacing in Yoshikazu Miyano and Shūmei Sasaki’s love story. The show doesn’t rush both boys into a relationship; it eases them into it with a lot of much-needed self-reflection, acceptance, and eventually, pride in both themselves and each other.
4. The Summer Hikaru Dies
The first season of The Summer Hikaru Died proved to be the runaway hit of the Summer 2025 season. The 12-episode horror series scored multiple nominations in Crunchyroll’s recently concluded 10th Anime Awards, including Anime of the Year. And though it didn’t win any, it nevertheless solidified its status as one of the best new anime to watch.
The show’s tension centers on Yoshiki Tsujinaka’s deep attachment to his best friend, Hikaru Indo. As he begins to suspect that Hikaru may no longer be the person he once knew, he still tries to preserve their friendship, clinging to what he believes is his first love. Even if it means staying close to something inhuman and dangerous, capable of harming those around them.
5. This Monster Wants to Eat Me
Speaking of queer horror anime series, This Monster Wants to Eat Me is just as riveting as its BL predecessor. This time around, it’s a girls’ love show, featuring the tragic high school girl, Hinako Yaotose, and a monstrous mermaid-turned-human, Shiori Oumi. After losing her parents and older brother in a car accident, Hinako wants nothing more than to be die herself but is unable to find the courage to commit suicide.
This is where Shiori comes in, who wants to eat Hinako—literally!—but is saving it for when her intended snack is at her tastiest. Thus, the mermaid, who can turn herself human and has infiltrated Hinako’s school, works to protect her prey from other monsters. However, she becomes more intrigued and develops new feelings for the girl, eventually questioning if she’ll still want to eat her in the end.
6. Bloom Into You
Bloom Into You beautifully illustrates how queer love—in this case, lesbian romance—relies on emotional connection, not just physical attraction. Second-year student council member Touko Nanami confesses her love to first-year student Yuu Koito at the beginning of the series, but gets rejected. Yuu doesn’t reciprocate Touko’s feelings, and the latter understands but still makes friends with her anyway.
Throughout the show, both girls grow closer to each other, with Yuu inevitably falling in love with Touko, too. This eventually results in a loving relationship between the two, providing emotional support for one another as they bloom into college women ready to take on the world together.
7. Citrus
This 2018 yuri series relies on the trusty enemies-to-lovers trope for its lesbian drama. The fashionable gyaru transfer student Yuzu Aihara clashes with the cold student council president Mei Aihara, who happens to be her new stepsister. Try though as they might to avoid conflict, however, the tension bubbling up between them can’t help but draw these girls to each other.
Admittedly, the show hinges upon many toxic tropes in queer anime series. The initial relationship and eventual romance between the two is anything but healthy, but it undoubtedly makes for riveting entertainment.
8. Scum’s Wish
Still up for another toxic queer romance anime? Then look no further than the infamous 2017 series, Scum’s Wish. High school student Hanabi Yasuraoka is in love with her old childhood neighbor and now-teacher Narumi Kanai, whom she discovers is in love with fellow faculty member Akane Minagawa. To satisfy her loneliness, she gets into a fake relationship with the popular Mugi Awaya, who himself is also in love with Akane.
Despite all the fake love and private yearning, Hanabi discovers her own bisexuality when she enters into a sexual relationship with her best friend, Sanae, who has long harbored feelings for her. With unresolved feelings and sexual tensions abound, Scum’s Wish occupies a unique, albeit controversial spot in the queer anime space.
9. Wandering Son
No matter how controversial transgenderism continues to be in today’s social and political landscape, it remains a complex personal journey of gender identity and self-acceptance. Wandering Son beautifully exemplifies this with its gentle protagonists, a young trans girl named Shuichi Nitori and a young trans boy named Yoshino Takatsuki.
Both begin their queer journeys in the fifth grade, a concept that would have thrown certain people into a frenzy had it premiered today. But no matter the fuss it might have created, the show still tells transgender stories gently and respectfully. Both Shuichi and Yoshino’s paths to transitioning are filled with emotional complexities, interpersonal conflicts, and eventually, pride in their true identities.
10. Senpai is an Otokonoko
Having aired in the summer 2024 anime season, Senpai is an Otokonoko, caused a bigger wave with its queer story. It even reached a point that, Crunchyroll, which streamed the series, had to disable its comment section. Despite all that, however, the show remained a beautiful example of how anime can tackle queer narratives with an entertaining but respectful touch.
It’s worth highlighting that the protagonist, Makoto Hanaoka does not explicitly identify as a transgender girl, but expresses comfort in presenting femininely. The series also explores a love triangle involving his close friends Saki Aoi and Ryuji Taiga, adding layers to its portrayal of identity and attraction.
Enjoy a whole host of complex LGBTQIA+ stories with the best queer anime series this Pride Month. Each exemplifies that the community’s narratives make the most riveting shows.
Sources: KADOKAWAanime Official YouTube Channel, Sentai Official YouTube Channel, TopUp Anime YouTube Channel, Netflix Anime Official YouTube Channel, Crunchyroll Official YouTube Channel, Kazuma Senpai YouTube Channel, nickthatisnottaken YouTube Channel, AniTV Official YouTube Channel, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb
